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Nobel-winner Kailash Satyarthi is now Harvard’s ‘Humanitarian of the Year’

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kailash-satyarthi

Washington: Harvard University’s prestigious ‘Humanitarian of the Year’ award has gone to Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, in recognition of his continuing contribution to the cause of children’s rights and abolition of child slavery.

Satyarthi is the first Indian to get this honor.

“I humbly accept the award on behalf of millions of left-out children, for whose rights we strive to work for. Let us all pledge together to eradicate child slavery from the world,” the activist said in his acceptance speech yesterday.

Each year, the Harvard Foundation presents the award to people whose work and deeds have improved society and been inspiring to people.

Satyarthi recently succeeded in getting child protection and welfare-related clauses — which aim to end slavery, trafficking, forced labour and violence — included in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations,

“Even developed countries, including the Unites States, have hundreds of slaves who are forced into labour, pushed into sex trade or trafficked into domestic labour. Undocumented immigrants, people in the margins of the society are pulled into a circuit of slavery,” Satyarthi said.

In the past this honor has been given to luminaries like Martin Luther King Sr., Secretaries-General of the United Nations: Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Javier Perez de Cuellar, and Ban Ki-moon; Nobel laureates: Jose Ramos-Horta, Bishop Desmond Tutu, John Hume, and Elie Wiesel; Ethel Kennedy, R C Gorman, artist and ThorbjornJagland, head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee.

(PTI)

What can we do if somebody rapes you? BJP leader K S Eshwarappa asks woman journalist

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K S Eshwarappa

Ramanagara: Senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister KS Eshwarappa today courted controversy when he asked a woman journalist what can the opposition members do if “someone drags and rapes” her.

Responding to a woman journalist’s question if opposition BJP has failed in its duty by not making government accountable for such crimes, Eshwarappa, Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council, said “You are a woman, you are here now, if someone drags you and rapes you, we opposition people will be somewhere else. What can we do?”

“You tell me what we need to do, we will do it;…we have criticised it in the Legislature, when a six-year-old girl was raped I used all sorts of language that I had to, you people objected to my language…,” he said.

Eshwarappa had earlier too found himself in the eye of a storm over his poser to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister KJ George on whether they will have feelings for victims of sexual assault in the state only if their daughters are “raped”.

His remarks in November last year had come against the backdrop of incidents of sexual assaults. Congress had then slammed the remarks as “distasteful” while an embarrassed BJP Karnataka unit distanced itself from the controversy.

The state has witnessed alleged incidents of gangrape in Bengaluru, Mandya and Tumakuru in the last couple of weeks.

A 20-year-old woman from Mysuru was allegedly gangraped by four men, including her friend, near Pandavapura taluk in Mandya on October 9.

(PTI)

Two minors brutally gang-raped in Delhi; Kejriwal asks what Modi is doing?

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rape

New Delhi: Two minors were brutally gangraped in the city, incidents which come close on the heels of the rape of a four-year-old girl in northwest Delhi last week.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed concern over the “repeated” rape of minors in the city and asked what the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Delhi LG were doing.

While a two-and-a-half-year-old girl was raped in Nihal Vihar area of west Delhi yesterday, a 5-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by three men who were later arrested by the police in East Delhi’s Anand Vihar.

The two-and-a-half-year-old girl was kidnapped and allegedly gangraped by two bike-borne men who picked her up last night from outside her home in Nihal Vihar area of south-west Delhi.

The girl was later found by the locals in a park and was profusely bleeding. She was rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital where she is undergoing treatment, police said.

A case has been registered under relevant Sections of IPC and POCSO Act and a manhunt has been launched to arrest the accused, said a senior police officer.

In other incident, three men who were allegedly under the influence of intoxicants gangraped a 5-year-old girl last evening in Anand Vihar area of east Delhi, police said.

The victim, who sustained severe injuries to her private parts, was rushed to GTB Hospital. The accused Prakash, Rewati and Sitaram were caught by the locals after they heard the shrieks of the girl. The accused were thrashed and later handed over to police.

A case has been registered against them under relevant Sections of IPC and POCSO at Anand Vihar Police Station, DCP of East district police Bhairon Singh Gurjar said.

Taking a grim view of the cases, the Chief Minister said, “Repeated rape of minors is shameful and worrying. Delhi Police has completely failed to provide safety. What are the PM and his LG doing?” “Am on my way to hospitals to meet rape victims,” he tweeted.

Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Swati Maliwal, who visited the victims in hospitals, termed the incidents as “absolutely disgusting” and “shameful.”

“Woke up to 2 incidents of gangrape of a 2.5-year-old n 5-year-old. Bleeding not stopping for 2.5-year-old,” she tweeted.

“When will Delhi wake up? Till when will girls continue to be brutalised in the Indian capital. Gangrape of 2.5-year n 5-year-old. Shameful,” she said in another tweet. Last week a four-year-old girl was brutally raped in the city.

(Agencies)

Sub-inspector dies fighting thieves in Bengaluru

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SI Jagadish

Bengaluru: A police sub-inspector was stabbed to death while a constable suffered severe injuries when two bike-borne armed thieves attacked them on Friday in Bengaluru.

The deceased SI is Jagadish and the injured constable is Venkateshmurthy.

While Jagadish died on the spot, the constable sustained severe injuries and has been admitted to Nelamangala government hospital.

It is said that after being tipped off about two notorious thieves identified as Raghu and Krishna, SI Jagadish and Venkateshmurthy had managed to corner the thieves after hot pursuit. However, in a bid to escape, the thieves launched a fatal attack on Jagadish using a shovel. The duo even snatched away Jagadish’s revolver, it is said.

Jagadish is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Senior police officers rushed to the spot and conducted a detailed probe. A massive manhunt has been launched to nab the duo who are on the run.

(Agencies)

Narendra Modi losing, Nitish Kumar winning Bihar: Arvind Kejriwal

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: As the second phase of Bihar polls was underway, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday anticipated a victory for Nitish Kumar and claimed that the BJP, led by Narendra Modi, was all set to “badly” lose the elections.

The AAP convenor said that incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will get another shot at power. Kejriwal has openly endorsed Kumar’s candidature.

“As per my information, Modiji is losing Bihar elections badly. Nitishji is winning the polls,” Kejriwal tweeted.

Kejriwal had extended full support to his Bihar counterpart’s candidature at a conclave organised by the Delhi government in the capital in August.

However, he did not campaign for the JD(U) in the ongoing polls.

Making common cause against Modi, the duo also attacked him for announcing a Rs 1.25 lakh crore package for the election-bound state.

AAP has had to walk a tightrope in supporting Nitish as his party JD(U) is part of a grand alliance of which Lalu Prasad-led RJD is also a part.

(PTI)

Pakistani family refused accommodation in Mumbai, leaves dejected

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Pakistani-Family-Mumbai

Mumbai: A Pakistani family which arrived here to visit the Haji Ali ‘dargah’ to pray for their mentally challenged son was refused accommodation by several hotels in the city following which they spent the night on a pavement.

A sub-inspector of Railway Police Force (RPF) provided some succour to the family of around five members after they reached the Mumbai Central Railway Station on Wednesday but the family failed to find accommodation in any hotel or lodge, its senior inspector R K Arya said.

On October 4, the Pakistani family had arrived in India on a 40-day visa. On Wednesday afternoon, they reached Mumbai Central Railway Station by Suryanagri Express from Jodhpur. Their ordeal began soon as they were refused accommodation by several lodges and hotels, which they approached in South Mumbai.

“The only reason for refusal by lodges and hotels was that they (hotels) didn’t want to complete the formality of filling ‘Form-C’, which is to be submitted to a government department if people from outside the country come to the city on visa and stay in their lodges and hotels,” said RPF sub-inspector Mahesh Chauhan, who helped the family in their time of distress.

“They also said that the owners of the lodges and hotels told them that they were very small establishments and have no manpower to do the extra work of filling and submitting the Form-C,” he said.

After checking and verifying the family’s documents, Chauhan took them to a cabin at Mumbai Central Police Station, located just outside the railway station, and told them to rest for sometime, besides offering them tea and snacks, Arya said.

The family stayed near the police cabin till around 1-1.30 am yesterday, Chauhan said. They spent rest of the time sitting on a pavement outside the railway station before heading back to Jodhpur. Due to their experience in the city, the family cut short its trip and left yesterday.

The family members told Chauhan that they had arrived in the city to visit the Haji Ali dargah to pray for their 12-year-old son who was mentally challenged. They visited the dargah yesterday and later left for Jodhpur via Loksatti Express (from Bandra Terminus) by cancelling their earlier return tickets for October 18, the sub-inspector said.

(Agencies)

17-year-old Ria Vithasha returns Karnataka state Sahitya award

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Ria Vithasha

Bengaluru: For 17 year-old Ria Vithasha, who has authored five novels, the killing of senior Kannada writer M M Kalburgi distressed her enough to take the decision to return her Karnataka Sahitya Academy award.

Vithasha, known by her pen name Muddu Thirthahalli, whose novel “Kaada Haadiya Hoogalu” has been adapted into an award-winning film, said she was “pained” that the killers of Kalburgi had not yet been caught and punished.

“I knew Kalburgi from childhood and have read all his books. I cried a lot when he was killed and wanted to return my award but my parents told me to have patience and wait. Now so much time has elapsed and still there is nothing being done so like the other writers have done, I have returned my award,” Vithasha said in halting Hindi.

The young writer, who is a PU II (Class 11)student, was conferred the award for her 2011 collection of essays “Ondu Chandrana Tundu”.

Vithasha’s mother Lydia D’Mello said her insistence to return the award came after hearing Kannada writer Chandrashekar Patil decided to return his Pampa award, one of the highest literary honors conferred by the Department of Kannada and Culture of Karnataka.

“She was close to Kalburgi and had attended many functions in his hometown Dharwad. She wanted to do something when she heard of his killing but we advised her to have patience,” D’Mello said.

(PTI)

SC declares NJAC unconstitutional, collegium system to continue

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Supreme Court

New Delhi: In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court today declared as unconstitutional the law brought by the NDA government to replace the over two-decade- old collegium system of judges appointing judges in the higher judiciary.

The apex court, which quashed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act in an unanimous verdict, also declared as unconstitutional the 99th amendment to the Constitution to bring in the Act to replace the collegium system.

The unanimous verdict quashing the NJAC Act was delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench comprising justices J S Khehar, J Chelameswar M B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Goel which also rejected the plea of Central government to refer for review to larger bench the 1993 and 1998 verdict of the apex court on the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

While four judges held as unconstitutional the 99th amendment of the Constitution, Justice J Chelameswar differed with them and gave his own reasons for upholding its validity.

Justice Khehar, who pronounced the judgment for the bench, said that the system of appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice and judges of the high courts and transfer of judges from one high court to another has been existing in the Constitution prior to the 99th amendment.

The bench also said it was willing to take suggestions for improving the collegium system of appointment of judges and posted the hearing for November 3.

Justice Khehar said each one of us have recorded their reasons and order has been jointly signed.

The five-judge bench had reserved its judgment on July 15 on a bunch of pleas challenging the consitutional validity of the NJAC Act and the 99th amendment in the Constitution after a marathon hearing for 31 days on the issue.

The petitions challenging the new legislation were filed by Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) and others contending that the new law on the selection and appointment of judges was unconstitutional and aimed at hurting the independence of judiciary.

However, the Centre had defended the introduction of the new law saying that the two-decade-old collegium system where judges appointed judges was not free from defects and got the support of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

The measure was also supported by 20 state governments which had ratified the NJAC Act and the constitutional amendment.

One of the contentious provisions of the new law was the inclusion of two eminent persons to the NJAC which included Chief Justice of India, two senior most judges of the apex court and the Union Law Minister.

Under the law, two eminent persons will be nominated by a committee consisting of the Chief Justice of India, Prime Minister, and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha or where there is no such LoP, the leader of single largest Opposition Party in the House.

Further, it envisaged that of the two eminent persons, one would be from the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or OBCs, minority communities or a woman.

As per the Act, the eminent persons shall be nominated for a period of three years and shall not be eligible for re-nomination.

The issue of eminent persons on the panel was a major bone of contention between the parties and, on final day of hearing, the bench had differed with the Centre, saying inclusion of laymen in the new system of judicial appointments “cannot work”.

Defending the provision for inclusion of two eminent persons, Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi had said, “If we can have laymen in some other Commissions and Tribunals then why not in the six-member NJAC.”

Noted jurists like Fali Nariman, Anil Divan and Ram Jethmalani were among prominent senior advocates who had argued against the NJAC replacing the collegium system.

(Agencies)

Maggi clears three lab test; Nestle to re-introduce the noodles soon

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MAGGI

New Delhi: The wait for the bowl of your favourite instant noodles will be over soon as all Maggi samples cleared test by three laboratories conducted as per Bombay High Court order.

“We have received test results from all three laboratories mandated by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court to test Maggi Noodles samples. All the 90 samples, covering six variants, tested by these laboratories are clear with lead much below the permissible limits,” Nestle India said in a statement.

Nestle India, that used to produce nine variants of Maggi noodles, on Friday said that the company is committed to re-introduce the instant noodles at the earliest in the country.

“In compliance with the orders of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court, we will now commence manufacture and will start selling only after the newly manufactured products are also cleared by the designated three laboratories,” the company added.

We will continue to collaborate with FSSAI, said Nestle India.

The company also said that it intends to restart Maggi sales after newly manufactured products are cleared by the labs. Stressing that Maggi noodles are safe, Nestle India said it has “conducted over 3,500 tests representing over 200 million packs in both national as well as international accredited laboratories and all reports are clear”.

Nestle India’s shares surged 7 percent as three lab tests cleared Maggi samples.

It may be recalled that Nestle had to withdraw its instant noodles brand Maggi from the market over allegations of high lead content and presence of MSG (monosodium glutamate).

In June, food safety regulator FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles after it found excess level of lead in samples, terming it as “unsafe and hazardous” for human consumption.

(Agencies)

Muslims can stay but must give up beef, says Haryana chief minister Khattar

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ml-khattar

Chandigarh: At a time when the ruling BJP is being criticized for incendiary statements by some of its leaders after the mob killing in Dadri of a Muslim man over beef rumours, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar has hit another jarring note.

In an interview, Mr Khattar has said that Muslims in the country must give up beef.

“Muslim rahein, magar is desh mein beef khaana chhodna hi hoga unko. Yahan ki manyata hai gau (Muslims can stay, but in this country they will have to give up eating beef. The cow is an article of faith here),” Mr Khattar said.

The 61-year-old, who took charge of the BJP’s first government in Haryana a year ago, is a veteran member of the party’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

He described the Dadri killing as the “result of a misunderstanding” in which both sides had been wrong. “It should not have happened…from both sides,” he said.

On September 28 in Uttar Pradesh’s Dadri, Mohammad Akhlaq, a 52-year-old blacksmith, was dragged out of his home by a mob of about 100 and beaten to death after a public announcement was made from a temple that a calf had been killed.

Mr Khattar alleged that Akhlaq had made a “halki tippani (loose comment)” about the cow which hurt the sentiment of those who attacked him. He said the mob acted like a man would “after seeing his mother being killed or his sister getting molested,” his rage getting the better of him.

Asked whether stopping people from eating food of their choice violates a constitutional right, the Chief Minister said while India is democratic, there are boundaries.

“Freedom of one person is only to the extent that it is not hurting another person. Eating beef hurts the sentiments of another community, even constitutionally you cannot do this.” he said, adding: “They can be Muslim even if they stop eating beef, can’t they? It is written nowhere that Muslims have to eat beef, or Christians have to eat beef.”

Mr Khattar’s government enacted a law in March that prescribes 10 years in jail for killing cows and five years for beef-eating.

(Agencies)

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